The Music of the Lord of the Rings: Rarities Archive
by Howard Shore

The Music of the Lord of the Rings: Rarities Archive

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The Music of the Lord of the Rings Films: Rarities ArchiveComposed by Howard Shore
Howe Records
(2010)

Rating:
8/10

Tracks 1, 2, 4

“From the very first
piece Shore wrote for the films (a synthesized mock-up of Shire
material) through to a full nine minute alternative score for the
Ring's destruction, this CD is a veritable treasure trove for fans
of The Lord of the Rings music. ”

The Rarities Archive
Review by Peter Nickalls

THE LORD OF THE RINGS - RARITIES ARCHIVE CD is included with the newly
released THE MUSIC OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS FILMS book (see my review
here) and contains 21 unreleased music tracks, composed by HOWARD SHORE as
well as a conversation between Shore and author DOUG ADAMS. The final
chapter of the book provides fascinating commentary on the music found on
this remarkable disc.

The CD is comprised of mock-ups, alternative tracks, unreleased theatrical
versions and even trailer music, all of which provide a fantastic insight
into the process of creating and developing the music for this epic
trilogy. From the very first piece Shore wrote for the films (a
synthesized mock-up of Shire material) through to a full nine minute
alternative score for the Ring's destruction, this CD is a veritable
treasure trove for fans of The Lord of the Rings music.

Despite being comprised of some fairly disparate elements, the CD manages
to convey a sense of journey, largely because the tracks are divided
chronologically into the three films. We start at the beginning with
"Prologue: One Ring to Rule Them All (Alternate)" (1) which has a less
thematic and more atmospheric feel than the final film version (the
opening is very similar to the corresponding track on the theatrical
Fellowship soundtrack). Soft string clusters and melancholy choir
gradually crescendo towards a theme reminiscent of 'The History of the
Ring'. A new version of the 'Gondor' theme also sounds before the familiar
'Footsteps of Doom End-Cap' and 'Ringwraith' theme announce Sauron's
arrival. The notes which accompany the CD explain that this track was
dropped because it was decided that the Prologue's music should 'present
the audience with a more absorbable collection of material at the story's
outset'. Whilst this seems understandable, it is refreshing to hear a more
mysterious version of this piece with a good deal of non-thematic material
present.

"The Shire/The Hobbits (Mock-up)" (2) is the first of seven mock-ups on
this CD, created by Greg Laporta on the Synclavier (an elaborate
sampler/synthesizer). Considering most of these mock-ups were produced
over 10 years ago, the quality is fairly decent, although some of the solo
instruments - particularly the Irish whistle in this track - sound very
computerised in an over-quantized / strict tempo sort of way. Lashings of
reverb cannot disguise these facts and it's amazing to consider how far
sequencing and virtual instruments have come in the last decade, listening
to these tracks. It is also testament to Shore's level of trust and faith
in the project to allow Adams access to these pieces which would never
normally be made available to the public.

"Out From Bree (Theatrical Version & Alternate)" (3) is an example of a
track from the film, never released on any recording until now; the first
two minutes are from the Fellowship's theatrical version (a different
piece was used in the extended version which featured on the Complete
Recordings) but the last two minutes are not used in any film version;
they contain what would have been the first introduction of the 'Isengard'
theme. It's all fairly typical Shore writing and the majority of the
material will be familiar to most people. This is also true of "Flight to
the Ford" (4) except for the bizarre staccato choir section (Shore labels
it a 'choral incantation'), which was rather reminiscent of a random
phrase builder in a choir sample library - except of course, for the fact
that the text has actually been penned by Philippa Boyens and translated
into Sindarin by David Salo.

"Moria (Mock-up)" (5) comes across as one of the weaker tracks in this
collection. This might have to do with the synthesized sounds or the fact
that the music is very different from what was used in the final score,
but I suspect it is in fact due to the repetitive and dull rhythmic and
harmonic accompaniment. It is reassuring to hear that even someone like
Shore doesn't always nail it the first time!

Whilst "The Fighting Uruk-hai (Alternate)" (6) and "The Argonath
(Alternate)" (7) contain little new material as such, the decisions to
scrap them in favour of different approaches is interesting to read about.
Further explanations are offered with the first two tracks from The Two
Towers section, "Gwenwin in în ('Arwen's Song' Alternate/Mock-up)" (8) and
"Arwen's Song (Complete)" (9). The first of these is an alternative piece
for "Arwen's Song", in mock-up form and complete with a synthesized vocal
line (barely audible in the mix). It is a beautiful and haunting piece,
the simple texture belying the complex harmonic modulations which Shore
navigates effortlessly. The second track (9) is an extended version of the
final version of "Arwen's Song" which we hear in THE RETURN OF
THE KING
during the Houses of Healing sequence. This was originally meant to
accompany the vision Arwen has of her future son, Eldarion in The Two
Towers. I watched the Eldarion scene with "Arwen's Song" playing, but much
preferred the poignant minor harmonies of Renée Fleming's "Evenstar" which
replaced it for this scene.

"Emyn Muil" (10) is another alternate version, evoking the desolate
landscape instead of focusing on the characters' journeys, whilst "The
Rohan Fanfare (Mock-up)" (11) is one of the better sounding synthesized
tracks on the album, notable for the fact that most of the music found its
way into the finished scores. Meanwhile "The Eaves of Fangorn (Alternate)"
(12) presents an exciting and different interpretation of this memorable
scene, although again, the material will be familiar to most. The final
Two Towers track, "The Ent Theme (Mock-up)" (13) features more regular
rhythmic patterns and different instrumentation, compared with the final
version. Shore's writing here is refreshingly dissonant, if not quite
atonal, although the track itself is somewhat repetitive.

The first piece from The Return of the King section is "The Return of the
King Trailer" (14) which Shore wrote specifically for the theatrical
trailer of the film. It includes music from The Two Towers and the Gondor
theme and is surprisingly restrained for trailer music (at least, compared
with the 'epic' music we have come to expect from blockbuster trailers
these days). It is unusual in today's age for the composer of the film to
score the trailer and even more unusual to find it on a CD, making this
track a rare gem indeed.

"The Gondor Theme (Mock-up)" (15) is another of the weaker mock-ups,
featuring a rather elementary drum beat and major harmonies (instead of
the minor ones used in the finished score) which detract from the heroic,
grandiose nature of the theme. Following on, "The Muster of Rohan
(Alternate)" (16) was composed for a different edit of the Dunharrow scene
with an expanded Rivendell theme and a more sombre tone for the music
accompanying the marshalling scene. As the track continues, Shore expertly
builds to a dramatic climax, with brass fanfares blasting out fragments of
the Rohan theme.

"The Siege of Gondor (Alternate)" (17) is a much shorter and more
simplified version of its counterpart in the Complete Recordings; Adams
describes this piece as a skeletal structure on which the completed track
was based. It is intriguing to compare the two and see how Shore expands
upon musical ideas and orchestration in the final version. Next, "Shieldmaiden
of Rohan (Theatrical Version)" (18) is another track heard in the film but
never before released on CD. An enjoyable track and another demonstration
of Shore's masterful brass scoring, this piece contains an epic version of
the Rohan theme but lacks the choral drama of its Complete Recordings
counterpart.
"Sammath Naur (Alternate)" (19) - the longest track on this CD at nearly
nine minutes - was written for an extended version of the One Ring's
destruction as the battle at the Black Gate rages on. It contains material
from the final version, including Renée Fleming singing what the book
describes as 'the Ring's purest celebration', but following this there is
also new choral writing which wonderfully captures the drama of this
climactic sequence.

"Frodo's Song ('Into the West' Alternate/Mock-up)" (20) has very little to
do with the piece sung by Annie Lennox, save for the fact that it was one
of several concepts for The Return of the King's final song. This piece is
quietly beautiful, with a live vocal humming the Shire-based melody
accompanied by soft synthesized strings. This is another case - like with
"Arwen's Song" and "Evenstar" - where we could ask ourselves, were it not
for our familiarity with "Into the West", would this piece seem equally
suitable for the final song of this trilogy? I would argue not, as
"Frodo's Song" seems less powerful and not as direct melodically and
lyrically, especially as the text would have been in Sindarin, unlike the
English lyrics sung by Lennox.

The final piece on this CD is entitled "Elanor (Alternate)" (21), which
was meant to accompany Sam's return to the Shire with a final Fellowship
theme statement. Here, the CD reveals something of a cyclic nature, as
unlike in the Prologue where a more thematic approach was taken, it was
decided to go with more 'emotionally resonant' - rather than thematic -
music for this scene.

Tracks (22) and (23) contain an audio discussion between Shore and Adams
which includes anecdotes about how Shore began composing some of the music
(he created sketches in pencil on four to six staves, before scanning the
pages and sending them off to be mocked up) and a section on how the
thematic approach to the music reflects Tolkien's own storytelling.

HE LORD OF THE RINGS - RARITIES ARCHIVE CD and its accompanying
chapter in THE MUSIC OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS FILMS, offer a fascinating
insight into the creation of these scores, and demonstrate what an
incredible journey Shore embarked upon more than a decade ago. However,
rather than a chapter at the end of the book, it might have been more
useful to have the references to these alternative versions and mock-ups
within the main body of the text, so that readers could immediately make
connections between the different versions of pieces and themes (similar
to the 'Unused Concept' sections in the PDF Annotated Score booklets). I
would also have been interested to hear more alternate themes - if they
had been composed - for the different cultures and characters as there is
not a huge amount of new thematic material present. Ultimately though,
Adams must be applauded for carefully selecting these pieces from masses
of unused musical recordings, in order to bring us one of the most
fascinating, unusual and revealing film music CDs of all time.

Rating:
8/10

Peter
Nickalls is a recent music
graduate from Cambridge
University and is just
starting out as a composer for
media. Visit his website:
www.peternickalls.com